In Conversation

Pekka Kuusisto has never been especially interested in staying neatly within musical boundaries. The Finnish violinist, conductor and composer returns to Australia to guest direct the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s Legends and Luminaries program, bringing with him the curiosity, spontaneity and collaborative spirit that have become hallmarks of his work. He reflects on the ACO’s influence on his own approach to directing, his enthusiasm for contemporary composers, and why he tries not to spend too much time thinking about what kind of musician he is supposed to be.
The conversation looks back on a childhood immersed in music, from improvising at the piano with his father to beginning violin lessons at the age of three and later winning the Sibelius Competition. He talks about discovering Nordic folk traditions at a moment when he felt he had “lost the plot” musically, the value of collaboration over ego, and the freedom he has found in making music outside the classical world. His latest adventure is Council, a songwriting project with Gabriel Kahane, which has given him the chance to become, as he puts it, a “deeply middle-aged” beginner singer-songwriter.
Pekka Kuusisto directs the Australian Chamber Orchestra from 3-19 October.

Simon Phillips has spent more than four decades at the heart of Australian theatre, directing everything from Shakespeare and contemporary drama to blockbuster musicals and opera. In Sydney directing the Australian premiere of Steven Moffat’s The Unfriend for Sydney Theatre Company, Simon reflects on the precision required to make comedy work and how the audience’s laughter becomes another member of the cast.
He also looks back on a career that has taken Priscilla, Queen of the Desert around the world, helped bring Muriel’s Wedding to the stage, reimagined Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, and put The Phantom of the Opera on Sydney Harbour. Simon talks about discovering theatre as a child in New Zealand, his enduring passion for Shakespeare, the challenges of directing opera, and his years leading the Melbourne Theatre Company. He speaks about a desire to always keep audiences on the edge of their seats, drawing us into lives and experiences beyond our own.
Simon Phillips directs The Unfriend for the Sydney Theatre Company, at the Roslyn Packer Theatre, from September 29 through October 31.

Bass-baritone Andrew O’Connor has built a remarkably varied career spanning opera, chamber music, choral repertoire and contemporary Australian work. In this conversation, Andrew discusses Transformations, his new album with Van Diemen’s Band, which journeys through early German Baroque music while pairing works by composers including Schütz and Buxtehude with newly commissioned responses from Brooke Shelley and Alice Chance. He reflects on the particular richness of this repertoire for the bass voice, the pleasure of having new music written specifically for him, and why working with living composers has become such an important part of his musical life.
Andrew also looks back on growing up in Perth, beginning as a trumpeter before discovering his voice almost by accident, and the opportunities that allowed him to begin working professionally at a remarkably young age. He talks about learning his craft on the job, his years with The Song Company, the unpredictable but rewarding life of a freelance musician, and his belief that different kinds of music-making continually feed into one another. Along the way, he discusses his passion for education and the life-changing potential of music.
Transformations is out now on the Van Diemen’s Band label, and via streaming platforms.

Stephen Layton has spent his life exploring what happens when people come together to make music. In Sydney to conduct the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs in Mozart’s Requiem and other works, he reflects on the balance between instinct and preparation, having examined the famous piece note by note in preparing his own performing edition.
The conversation traces Stephen’s story back to childhood, where he played alongside his father in a Pentecostal church where music might begin spontaneously and gather momentum around the room. From there came an extraordinary journey through Winchester Cathedral, Eton and King’s College, Cambridge, where scholarships opened doors that had once seemed unimaginable. Stephen speaks about founding Polyphony, his ambitious overnight performance of John Tavener’s The Veil of the Temple, and his seventeen years transforming the choir of Trinity College, Cambridge. He also explains why Australia became unexpectedly important to Trinity’s international success, and talks of a life shaped by curiosity, opportunity and an enduring fascination with the collective energy of music-making.
Stephen Layton conducts the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs for Mozart’s Requiem and other works at the Sydney Opera House, September 9-12.

Percussionist Claire Edwardes has spent her career expanding the possibilities of her instrument and championing the music of our time. In this conversation, Claire reflects on her unlikely path from piano to percussion, the technical and physical demands of instruments such as marimba and vibraphone, and the sense of freedom she discovered in playing music without centuries of performance tradition behind it.
Claire also traces the evolution of Ensemble Offspring, from a group of Conservatorium students playing “wacky new music” to one of Australia’s leading contemporary music ensembles. She discusses the art of commissioning new works, her desire to push the art form forward, and why introducing audiences to unfamiliar sounds is as much about curiosity and connection as it is about the music itself. She also reflects on Ensemble Offspring’s decade-long commitment to working with First Nations composers and how those collaborations have reshaped her thinking about creativity and the process of making music.
We also hear about the enduring appeal of Steve Reich ahead of Ensemble Offspring’s upcoming concert, as well as Claire’s newest musical venture, Quartet X, an ensemble bringing together marimba, harp, guitar and violin for some unabashed musical guilty pleasures. Along the way, Claire reflects on turning 50, the pleasures and frustrations of a life spent surrounded by percussion instruments, and why she feels she is playing better, and is happier, than ever.
Ensemble Offspring’s Reich: Rejoice: Repeat! is on at ACO on the Pier for two concerts on Saturday 12 September, and at The Street in Canberra on Sunday 13 September.